Carlos Saavedra

Biography:
 

I am a Colombian documentary photographer with an interest in telling nuanced stories that do not sit in the binary, rejecting the way that traditional photojournalism has chosen to show my part of the world.
 

As a Colombian, I have been a witness of war since I was born, and hence, I disagree with the prevalence of one narrative and the idea that there should be a formal writing of history. I believe photography and art serve as a tool to show different realities that are not imposed by the media or the Western gaze. Art gives us a chance to create different stories, to make them our own, and, especially, to create counter-narratives that empower those who are often not represented.

I was born in 1987 with a Master’s degree in Documentary Photography and Photojournalism from LCC (London College of Communications) my work emphasizes on projects about the different stages of the human being, violence, trauma, and Colombian reality. Exhibitions in New York, Los Angeles, London, Washington, Mexico City, Paris, Bogota and Dhaka. Selected for the Ian Parry Fellowship, for the New York Times Portfolio Review (2015 and 2020), the Eddie Adams Workshop in 2015, and a finalist for the National Geographic Photo of the Year in 2012.

I have lectured at Conarte in Mexico, at the Universidad de los Andes in Bogotá, Colombia, at the United Nations headquarters in New York for the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), and recently at University College of London.
 

Earth Mothers / Madres Terra

The “Earth Mothers” project is based on the interaction between the earth and a group of mothers because from both mothers and earth life is born. In a photographic construction a world is created where, without physical effort, they levitate within the earth; they are suspended in another medium, another world.

In a burial, the earth is connected with every space in the body, each pore has contact with the dirt, and the senses are awakened, it is a special moment where the known physical world is distorted, the body changes, you change, it symbolizes the rebirth of these mothers, and it develops as a ritual

In September 2008, a group of mothers of the Community of Soacha denounced the disappearance and death of their children. An investigation uncovered that members of the Colombian Army had posed them as guerrillas to collect financial and professional rewards offered by the state. Since then, more cases of forced disappearance by the Army have come to light. The Mothers of Soacha have worked tirelessly for more than 7 years to preserve the memory of their children and to demand justice from the government.

Colombia's armed conflict has lasted more than 50 years affecting the entire population of the country. The distinction between good and evil has become blurry and murky, there is no good side in war where the innocent are usually the ones who suffer the most. The war has been a tragedy to everyone who has witnessed it including Colombia National Army, Guerrillas (Farc, ELN, EPL, and M-19), Paramilitaire army, common crime, and civilians.

The series seeks not just to recognize the models as “The Mothers of Soacha” but also as Colombian women. “The Mothers of Soacha” are women known for keeping alive the memory of their children. I am showing you this project as a request from the women who are in these pictures, and it is their request to be seen as mothers, daughters, sisters, and human beings.

The series of 8 portraits were taken in a black and white film.